Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Head of Microsoft wants law on Artificial Intelligence

Lisbon, Nov.7 (Lusa) – The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, on Wednesday said at Web Summit that it is necessary to create international legislation on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that guarantees the security and freedom of people and businesses.
“Nowadays it is technically possible for a government to follow people minute by minute, to know where they are, where they go, who they speak to or what they are buying,” Smith recalled, during his presentation at Web Summit taking place in Lisbon until Thursday.
For him, it is necessary to create “very clear rules” that guarantee people's security in a world where AI is already part of their everyday life.
Smith recalled that AI is present in things as simple as Netflix, by suggesting movies based on the customer’s previous choices or a phone app that can transcribe what a person says.
The ability to identify fingerprints and faces is another of the gains of this new technology that can also be quite dangerous – AI can identify a criminal and find a lost child but can also be used to pursue innocent people.
Microsoft, along with many other companies such as Cisco or Facebook, recently signed an agreement in which they pledged to follow two main principles: securing the security of their customers worldwide and not helping governments or criminals attack innocent people or businesses.
But for Smith it is necessary to go further, creating an international law.
“No one, no company, no technology can be above the law,” he said, noting that “AI is the ability for computers to perceive the world and make decisions that, until recently, were made by humans,” and it is necessary to make sure everything is done ethically and with “very clear rules.”
SIM/IMYN // ADB.
Lusa